At last, summer is coming to an end and the start of University of New Mexico Lobo Sports are upon us. It is time for every Lobo fan to examine what realistic expectations and goals should be for each Lobo sports team. As fans, it can be difficult to judge a program subjectively, as we are more prone to letting our emotions get in the way. So, here we are trying to step back and look back at the numbers and the results that we have available to us. The athletic department at New Mexico has set itself up to be relevant and competing for conference titles in most of the sports, and has even built some nationally recognized programs.
In these posts, we’ll tier the programs by their current state. It is worth stressing that where these programs are right now doesn’t mean that this is where they will always be. With the proper support and leadership in place, any of the programs can see a drastic improvement. For example, men’s soccer was nowhere close to where it is now, ever since Coach Fishbein took over.
Potential Conference Relevant Program
These programs have potential to soon be competitive in the conference and, in some years, compete for conference titles.
Swimming and Diving: This program hasn’t had much success lately and it is a program that has some of the biggest challenges in the conference. The facilities aren’t even the best in the city and one has to think that it can’t be easy to recruit student athletes from coastal cities to go swimming in a desert. Recently, this has been a program where it is more likely to have a better dive team than swimming, so the swim team will likely have to show the most improvement if the team is to have more success. The realistic expectations for the Swimming and Diving program are to move into the top half of the conference and be competitive in the conference. This program has a ways to go but it can be done.
Football: The program has almost recovered from the black hole that was the Mike Locksley Era, when this program was one of the worst in the country. This is year four of the Bob Davie Era; while the results haven’t been great the first three years, the win-loss record isn’t what we should be focused on. The offense was good last year with a lot of dynamic players. Defense still has a long way to go but don’t be surprised if there is 8-9 win season in the next couple of years. The realistic expectation for the Lobo Football program, once it completely recovers and is full strength, is to be a bowl team almost every year, sometimes challenging for the conference title. There are limitations for this program: because of the landscape of college football, New Mexico will likely never be a nationally relevant program as long as they remain in their current conference. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be relevant in the region and possibly have a few years where they are a top-40 team.
Softball: This program has limitations in being a sport that doesn’t bring in money and its location for recruiting. There are some sports where location doesn’t hurt UNM programs but this is one where it does hurt. The coaches have to recruit and evaluate the right players that are under the radars of the regional and national programs. If the coaches are able to do this and help develop the players to where they are All-Conference players and a few All-Region players they will have a chance to become a conference relevant program with the chance to be in the conversation for conference titles. While this is a difficult program to evaluate and finding where it can stand in the college softball landscape, this program has potential and has a chance to be a solid program. As is with the football program there are limitations to this program, it will likely never be a nationally recognized program that can compete consistently with the top schools in the region or in the country. Realistic expectations for the softball program are to be competitive in the conference each year and to be in a position to make it to regionals every few years.
Conference Relevant Programs
This group consists of programs that have won or are in the conversation for conference titles every year. These programs have the potential to be nationally relevant programs in the next few years.
Women’s Basketball: This is the program in this group that has the best chance to become nationally relevant again, as it was there not that long ago when it was winning conference titles and making the NCAA Tournament every year. The building blocks are there and if the coaches can recruit or develop a top end player that can carry the team, this process will more quickly. As fans, the process to get there may seem long, but with this program you have to trust the process and give Coach Sanchez a fair shot. Go out and support this program and get the attendance back to where it was ten years ago. If it all clicks, this program has a chance to be something special. There are some limitations with this program and part of it has to do with the conference being down in women’s basketball. This is a case where multiple programs need to get back to where the conference is a multi-bid league for the NCAA tournament instead of being a one-bid league. If this happens, the fans of the conference have a chance to watch some great women’s college basketball. The realistic expectations for the women’s basketball program is to be competing for conference titles and reaching the NCAA or NIT tournament on a yearly basis.
Women’s Tennis: This program is coming of its first Mountain West Championship and earning a birth into the NCAA Tournament. Last year’s results can be what the program needed as a foundation for the expectations and goals for the team. If the coaches and players are able to build off last year, this will bring more exposure to the program and allow the coaches to recruit at a higher level. With the fantastic new facilities, the program will be able to grow and potentially bring in great tournaments as well as great players. If the coaches and players are able to build off last year, the realistic expectations for women’s tennis will be competing for conference titles and reaching the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis.
Men’s Tennis: This program is coming off a very solid year in which it earned the top seed in the Mountain West Tournament and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament. With the addition of the new facilities and its recent success, the program has been put in a position to recruit at a higher level and become a program that can become a regional power. Development will be key for the coaches to take this program to its apex. The realistic expectations for this program are to compete for and win conference titles, and making the NCAA tournament consistently. Men’s tennis has a chance to become the conference powerhouse and become a top-25 program.
Women’s Soccer: A new era of soccer is here and with it comes the chance to build a very solid and successful program that is very well respected, both regionally and nationally. Results were not the problem under the former coaches, so the new regime has the fortune of not starting from scratch. In the coming years, if the coaches and players are able to come together as a unit and build a foundation for the program, they can build this like the men’s program was able to do with its last regime change. The facilities are fantastic and will allow to recruit at a very high level, allowing this program to become a regional power. The women’s team can use the men’s team as a blueprint that will allow this program to reach its full potential. Realistic expectations for the women’s soccer program is to compete for conference titles and making the NCAA Tournament most years, with the potential to make a run in the tournament every few years.
In part 2, we will be looking at the nationally and regionally relevant programs.